Security on alert amid rumored plot to harass people flying from Israel to Schiphol
Rumors of a plot to harass passengers flying from Israel to Schiphol Airport, which were posted on social media, have authorities in the Netherlands on alert. There have been several reports of a Facebook post sharing the arrival times of flights coming to Schiphol Airport from Tel Aviv. The Amsterdam airport is aware of these reports and “takes them very seriously,” and so does the Koninklijke Marechaussee, the branch of the Dutch military which monitors the country's airports.
A Facebook account from a user supposedly based in Rotterdam initially called for people to gather at Schiphol Airport, with an apparent goal of harassing passengers arriving in Amsterdam from Tel Aviv. While KLM, Transavia and EasyJet are not flying scheduled routes to Tel Aviv until at least November 7, Israel airline El Al is still shuttling passengers between the two cities.
"Isreal [sic] pleasantly on the way to the Netherlands ..... time to also gather at Amsterdam Schiphol .... We must not allow this," the initial post stated. While that post was removed. A new, similar post removes language calling for a gathering at Schiphol but still includes the dates and arrival times of flights from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam.
The post consists of several screenshots with flight arrival times of Transavia and KLM. It concerns flights from Tel Aviv to Schiphol landing next week, as well as flights in mid-January. "Looking for a nice safe country, but the Palestinians can drop dead 😭!!!!!!!! Where is this world heading to, and everyone just watches," the post reads.
The post was shared twice, and several people commented by simply tagging the police. CIDI, the Center for Documentation and Information on Israel, was among those who spoke about the posts on X, stating, “Today people on Facebook called for others to go to Schiphol to wait for planes from Israel, just as recently happened in Dagestan.”
This refers to the mob that stormed an airport in Russia’s mostly Muslim region of Dagestan on Sunday in search of Jewish passengers arriving from Israel. Multiple videos posted on social media showed people running through the Makhachkala Uytash Airport, some carrying Palestinian flags or signs denouncing Israel.
Federatief Joods Nederland called the Facebook post “very concerning” and also made reference to the events at Dagestan's airport in a post on X. They have urged immediate action from the police and the Koninklijke Marechaussee.
A spokesperson for Schiphol Airport told NL Times on Friday afternoon that they are aware of these reports. “We are aware and we take these reports very seriously,” she said. The airport was first alerted on Thursday. “We immediately contacted the Koninklijke Marechaussee, who are monitoring the situation closely,” the spokesperson added.
The Koninklijke Marechaussee also confirmed they are aware of the Facebook post. They indicated that they will review it, but said they could not provide further information for safety reasons.
Anti-Semitism has been on the rise in the Netherlands since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7. Both CIDI and Eddo Verdoner, the National Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism, said they have received more notifications about such incidents, RTL Nieuws reported on Thursday.
